Awakening to the Church’s true vocation
“God has been at work from the beginning to form a covenanted people of God to help bring about God’s plan for reconciling the world to its intended purposes.”– From The Baby and the Bathwater, by Robert (Jack) Suderman When I heard that Jack and Irene Suderman were visiting Winnipeg this fall, I reached out…
Not your typical youth mission trip
“That was a test. True servants are always listening.” Jacques was our new friend. He was always barefoot and wouldn’t say how he had ended up living in his van, but he spoke six languages, and he enjoyed chatting with us about faith and making the world a better place. For a few days, he…
New vision, new life
Adjust the dial. Pick a colour. Pop, snap. A new pair of glasses is ready to wear in five minutes. This is the project of Global Vision 2020 (GV2020), an organization based in the United States, that works internationally to screen vision and distribute prescriptive eyeglasses to the 2.5 billion people who need them…
Going deeper together
If you have been paying attention to what the regional churches are up to recently, you may have noticed a common question and a common longing. A question expressed at both regional and nationwide levels: What is God calling Mennonite Church Canada to do, as a church? And the longing: We desire to go deeper…
Seeking to fulfill God’s mission in the world
“To be clear, this is not a missions consultation.” So said Ryan Siemens, executive minister of Mennonite Church Saskatchewan, in his opening address to key regional leaders on March 29. From opening statements to the closing benediction two days later, MC Canada’s mission consultation was more about being a people with a mission than about…
Argentine Mennonites celebrate one hundred years
Performing before hundreds of Mennonites and passersby at a park in downtown Buenos Aires, a drama troupe from the Mennonite church in Villa Adelina, Argentina, mimed challenges and struggles facing youth: violence, drugs, promiscuity, greed, and death itself. Representing Argentinian youth, actor Laura Burgos sometimes seemed mesmerized as actors impersonated threats, but she also sought…
Creating a mission partnership web
What does mission look like in a country where the church is well established? From Jeanette Hanson’s point of view it’s a web of interconnected relationships. Hanson is a Mennonite Church Canada Witness worker and the associate director for Mennonite Partners in China (MPC). For 10 years, Hanson and her husband Todd taught English under…
Book Review – Exploring the Politics of Christian Mission
Nathan R. Kerr, Christ, History and Apocalyptic: The Politics of Christian Mission (Cascade, 2008) While the release date of Nate Kerr’s first work is barely over a year old I feel quite late in offering a review. Kerr has had a significant web presence himself while this book has also experienced substantial engagement (see here,…
